Third Words
When Jesus saw His mother standing there beside the disciple He loved, He said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son. And He said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” John 19:26-27a
The third words of Jesus are the words of Relationship. Jesus was on the cross, in pain and He still had compassion and a sense of responsibility towards His mother. Many times people use the pressures of life, work, or career as excuses to be nasty to their spouse, friends and even family. Some people go as far as Read the rest of this entry
Who do you need to ignore?
The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. Prov.12:26
Notice that Jesus focused mainly on what was truly important in His final hours. He totally ignored the scoffing from the thief on the left. Jesus could have allowed Himself to be ruled by emotions and insulted the thief on the left. This no doubt would have altered His focus and perhaps changed the course of Read the rest of this entry
Second Words
And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
Jesus’ second words on the cross were ‘today you will be with me in paradise’. Our Saviour’s first and second words on the cross were words of love. ‘I assure you…’, in other words you can be rest assured that salvation is yours the minute you ask for it. Jesus again saying not only forgiveness but salvation Read the rest of this entry
Bless Them
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Matt.5:44
Jesus commands that you pronounce blessings especially on those who persecute you. And while He was being crucified Jesus embodied this teaching. Even love requires a deliberate effort; no doubt it would be difficult but love says be kind to the people that persecute you. Take it a Read the rest of this entry
Effective Forgiveness
‘Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them’ Rom.12:14.
Are you waiting to feel better before you forgive that person who has hurt you? Guess what, satan will make sure you don’t feel better and so you never forgive, that is his job. With forgiveness, you cannot rely on how you feel because chances are you have just been hurt and the memory is still fresh. At this point Read the rest of this entry
First Words
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”. Luke 23:34a
‘Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing’. We know that He was in excruciating pain but Jesus still had to say what was most important even in death. Forgiveness was important to Him, a twofold forgiveness. Firstly He had chosen to forgive His crucifiers, inspite of the ridicule, abuses, pain and punishment. Secondly, He went to God on their behalf asking for forgiveness Read the rest of this entry
Jesus Said…
‘But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed’ Isa.53:5 [NLT]
Jesus’ sole aim for coming was to be crucified. His being nailed to the cross was necessary so that all our sins will be forgiven. Jesus had to die because ‘…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’ of sins [Heb.9:22b]. Generations past and present, our fore fathers and our fathers; we all have sinned in God’s eyes. God must judge sin; the wages of sin is death. Jesus had to Read the rest of this entry
Be Merciful
‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven’ Luke 6:37 [NIV].
Be merciful! God will not ask you to give to others what He has not first given you. If you have obtained mercy, you must also give mercy. To who much is given, much is expected. Jesus says that loving Him translates to obeying His commands. God’s command to you and I today is be merciful. Mercy is not getting what you deserve; being merciful is not giving people what they Read the rest of this entry
Witness
‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere… and to the ends of the earth’ Acts 1:8 [NLT]
‘You will be my witnesses’; we are witnesses for Christ Jesus. And all that we need to get the job done has been planted in us by the Holy Spirit. Although, you cannot stand as a witness to an event you did not witness otherwise you will be a false witness. In other words, you cannot begin to talk about sharing Jesus if you do not have Jesus. When you have Christ, there is pressure on you Read the rest of this entry
Mercy and Grace
‘And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth’ John1:14 [KJV]
Growing up, when you know that your father is merciful, you would not hide anything from him. It is the same thing with God, if you take God as your Father who is merciful. However, unlike our earthly fathers, God already knows everything we have ever done and will do. It would be self- Read the rest of this entry
